Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
For most of us the snow has arrived, the bikes are put away and the long, what seems to be endless, winter has begun. With the technology now a days it can almost make a person go insane, watching your Facebook news feed, tweets, or Instagram pictures of all of the people who live down south or travel down south each year to ride, which seems to be more and more common every year. We get to see how much fun they are having, how warm the weather is, or maybe it’s just a picture of someone standing outside in shorts and a t-shirt. Sometimes it makes us all wonder “Why do we live here?” Fortunately, I have been one of those lucky people to make the trip down south the past five years to make my winter a bit shorter and to build myself into a better rider. Now I am not really the type of person to post pictures and tweets to brag about what I am doing in my life or my California trips, but here is just a little taste of what I did the past couple years.
If you have never been to California, I strongly suggest you pack up your bike and make the trip down there this winter, even if it’s just for a week or two. You can learn a lot and get a chance to ride seven epic tracks that are all located fairly close to each other. Each track is prepped and watered to absolute perfection EVERY SINGLE DAY, some places even twice a day, not to mention the track builders change the track layout every couple weeks to keep things different so the money you spend at each track is always well worth it. The elements of each area are different so to get the whole Cali experience you have to make it to them all!
The first two years when Brendon and I made the trip down there we were in Canyon Lake with the PerformX Camp. All of the gym training we did the months following up to before we got down there definitely paid off! It didn’t take us long to just hop on the bike and feel at home again. The PerformX group had a great atmosphere to be in, surrounded by a hard working group of people who wanted to reach their goals for the following year. It was nothing but pure dedication and hard work. We all learned from each other, pushed and encouraged each other to improve on the sport we all loved. It was a passion that was shared throughout the house. You could see it on everyone’s face, whether it was out at the track, in the gym or on our workout challenges how much they wanted to succeed, and it was a great family atmosphere to be a part of.
The following two years we decided to change it up and stay at our good friend Jared Stock’s place down in Murrietta. We all still had that hard work ethic and wanted to achieve more than we did in the past years so we put in the hours at the gym and our time on the bike was no different. I must say we did make a little more time to have some fun off the bike and made a trip to Knott’s Berry Farm, the San Diego Zoo and lounged by the pool to relax a bit more. I’ve learned over the years that a break off the bike is always good to have. Your body needs rest and can feel 100 times better your next ride.
The last year we went down we stayed at my Mom’s house in Romoland that she had just bought; it was perfect. Her house was in a great area, just on the edge of the community she lived in, where we could climb up very large hills behind the house to see some amazing scenery and make a good workout out of it. A good area for road biking and the location was right in the middle of all the tracks. We used everything we had learned from the previous years down there and built on that to make it a successful trip. Every year we go down south there are goals we set for ourselves. By the end of the three or four weeks we are there we work hard to accomplish those goals and be ready for the Canadian Series. Without goals you can get lost in the moto world down there, be star struck and forget what you might really be there to do. Set small goals for yourself (that goes for anything you do) and the bigger goals will be reached before you know it.
All of my experiences down south have been nothing but great fun and good learning experiences so if I could influence anyone to spend the money to make the trip, I assure you it is well worth it. Throwing yourself out there to new elements, riding with a huge group of various people and riding styles will better your riding skills and throw you to the next level you might be looking for. The trip can not only be physically rewarding but can mentally build you up too.
P.S. Is it just me or does is seem like no one in Cali has jobs? Everyone owns a dirt bike and is out motoing every day all day. Hundreds of people at each track, CRAZY!
Denaye
